Nami sighed and shut a locker closed. Next to her, Usopp marked off the locker she just checked.
"We just finished the bottom floor and the day's almost done. This is getting us no where," said Zoro as he leaned against the lockers.
"I agree. Every locker we've checked doesn't have any metal junk inside."
"What do you wanna do?" asked Vivi. "It's not like we know what floor the locker is that Luffy's talking about."
"I know."
It took thirty seconds until what they heard got through their heads.
"EEEHHH?" All eyes were on Usopp. Usopp used the board to cover his face.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US BEFORE?" yelled Franky.
"You guys were so determined, I didn't want to bother you."
"Well spit it out!" yelled Sanji.
"It's on the third floor! Probably on the spot where Smokey found him."
The crew sprinted for the stairs leaving Usopp to defend himself against no one.
"O-Oi! Wait!" he yelled as he ran to catch up.
"Why didn't we realize it before? Now I feel stupid," said Nami as she followed Zoro.
"I'd feel even stupider if we got lost because Zoro's leading the way," said Sanji.
"Shut up!" yelled Zoro.
Sanji ran faster and lead the way. They reached the floor and quickened their pace. They've wasted enough time already. They skidded to a stop when they reached the certain area of lockers where Luffy was caught.
"Check each of them. One of them has to be it," Nami ordered. The crew used the combinations they were given to open the lockers. Chopper managed to stumble on a locker he couldn't open. Zoro stepped in and used all his strength to open it. Loads of cameras fell out revealing the clapper hidden in them.
Vivi and Robin looked inside and found it to be the locker or a hardcore rock metal fan. The inside was painted black and just like Luffy said, it was filled with metals.
"Who's locker is this?" asked Zoro. Usopp scanned through the board. He looked up with a sign of fear on his face.
"I-It's-"
"What are you doing?"
Everyone was startled when behind Usopp, appeared Kid.
-x-x-x-
Nami ran as fast as she could. Behind her followed the rest of the crew except for Zoro and Sanji. Kid wouldn't let any them leave after finding out the truth. It took both Zoro and Sanji to distract him for the others to take off.
Nami held the clapper in her hands while everyone else carried a certain amount of video cameras. They have proof and evidence. Their time is running out and all they need now, is to find Rayleigh. She felt her heart pump faster when she saw Rayleigh turn the corner.
"Rayleigh!"
Rayleigh stopped and turned around. He smiled to himself when he saw the crew carrying the missing objects.
"I see you found them."
"Luffy isn't guilty! It was all Kid!" Nami explained.
"He was framed!" Chopper added.
"I know..."
Everyone's face fell when they heard him say those two words.
"HUH?"
"I already knew it was Kid this whole time."
"Bu.. Bu.. But why didn't you say anything? Was the whole thing a set up?" Nami raised her voice. She was confused and tired.
"No. Kid did rob the academy. But I wanted to see how you would handle yourselves and I wanted to see just how much faith Luffy has in you. And it looks like you've handled yourselves quite well. Luffy never gave up in you and you never gave up in defeat. I'm proud."
Nami fell to the ground in exhaustion. Vivi dropped some of the cameras. She couldn't help but laugh. She fell to the floor along with Nami and hid her face in her shoulder. Usopp started banging his head on a nearby locker. Chopper bursted into tears and hugged Franky. The two cried for all of this was over. Robin placed her hands over Vivi's and Nami's heads. They were finally free.
-x-x-x-
Luffy walked out of the front office and the first thing he did, was hug his beloved. Nami tightly wrapped her arms around his neck as he spun her around. The crew gathered around.
"Thanks, everyone."
"What would we do without you?" said Usopp. Chopper nodded in agreement. Luffy smiled.
"And what would I do without all of you?"
Everyone smiled.
"So, how did Kid get a hold of your phone?" Franky asked.
"Apparently, it fell out of my pocket after my fight with Bellamy. Kid saw the whole thing and just took it from the ground before I could notice."
"At least its all over."
Their conversation was disturbed when everyone started running for the front of the school. The crew followed to see what was going on. They looked out the window and saw Smoker and Tashigi getting into a limo with Kid by their side. Luffy assumed he was offered his spot in Marineford Academy. Luffy chuckled.
-x-x-x-
Nami walked around the hall with a happy feeling inside of her. Everything was back to normal again. Now that she thought about it, everyone has been through a lot lately. Sanji and Vivi just became a couple. She and Luffy did... that. Nami blushed while thinking about it.
Although, they still suffered a lot ever since she joined the crew. She wondered if it's always been like that even before she joined. She then started to feel a hint of worry that just maybe they were going through all of this because she joined. All her thoughts were disturbed when she ran into a wall.
Nami yelped. She rubbed her nose and felt herself blush from the embarrassment. Thankfully, no one saw. She looked up at the wall and saw a flyer right in front of her. It was a flyer to a fireworks show just a day after tomorrow. She smiled to herself. What a better way to start the summer than to spend it with Luffy.
"Oh, Nami!"
Nami turned around and saw Vivi walking towards her. Vivi noticed the flyer in front of her.
"Ah! You're going to the fireworks show too?" asked Vivi.
"Um, I was thinking about going with Luffy-"
"Perfect! Sanji and I are going too! I was going to ask Robin and Zoro, but turns out something came up with them. You have a yukata, right?"
"Y.. Yea-"
"Great! We'll meet you guys there."
Vivi smiled and hugged Nami before running away. Nami sighed. She hasn't even asked Luffy yet and things are already decided.
-x-x-x-
"EHH? You'll be gone all summer?" Nami asked, surprised by the news she heard.
"All the finalists are going up to the dome to train. It'll take all summer," explained Zoro.
"Which means we get to see Bellamy and that weird guy that looks like Usopp but fights like Zoro and Sanji combined," said Luffy.
"You'll really be gone that long?" asked Vivi.
"Unless you want us to lose," said Zoro.
"When are you leaving?" asked Robin.
"The day after we get out of school." Nami froze. That was the day of the fireworks show.
"That's in two day. We won't be able to hang out," said Chopper.
"You guys will be fine without us," Luffy grinned. Everyone's faced fell in disappointment. They were hoping to relax and calm down this summer. Nami was hoping to spend more time with Luffy during the show. Luffy noticed her expression. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
"Sorry, guys. We'll be heading out first."
Nami followed Luffy out of Usopp's place. They walked together in silence. Luffy squeezed her hand and turned to her. Nami looked up with a frown on her face. Luffy pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.
"Vivi told me about to fireworks show."
"Don't worry about it. I wasn't really planning on going anyway."
-x-x-x-
Nami gripped her hands tightly together. Today was her last day with Luffy and it was nothing but awkwardness between them. She didn't know exactly how to part. She could say 'goodbye', 'see you later', 'see ya later alligator'... Nami shook her head at the last statement. It would've been too embarrassing.
Luffy couldn't help but watch as Nami fidgeted. They were on the stairs and he was hoping to get some alone time with her, but they haven't said anything to each other all day.
"Nami..."
"Huh! Uh.. sorry."
"What's wrong? You've been shaking all day."
"I-It's nothing."
Nami couldn't say anything more. She didn't want to tell him that she'd feel lonely even though she'll have the crew with her. Moreover, she didn't want to say anything that will make him want to stay. The training wasn't technically mandatory, but it was a good way to get ready and prepare for when the tournament comes next spring. She didn't want to jeopardize his victory.
"Why are you so down? Are you going to miss me?" Luffy chuckled. Nami bit her lip. "You don't have to be so down. Sure they'll take our phones, but I can still call you using a public phone. I might even sneak out. It's three hours away, but I can still..."
Luffy stopped himself when he noticed the sad look on her face. He smiled and moved closer. Nami didn't even realize how close he was until his cheek touched hers. Nami jumped back in surprise.
"Want to do it now? Thirty-eight kisses."
"What are you talking about?"
"The number of days we won't see each other. Because you won't be able to see me, you'll feel really lonely, right?"
Luffy moved closer to where their lips are only inches apart. Nami stood up in anger.
"No way. There's no way I'd feel even a slight ounce of loneliness. Kiss. What kiss. I don't want any," Nami stomped down the stairs. "See you when school starts."
"Bye, Nami."
Nami felt a hint of spark in her heart. She ran down the stairs.
-x-x-x-
Nami fell on all four with her bag falling to the ground.
"I can't believe we parted like that," she murmured.
"Why are you so down?" asked Nojiko as she prepared dinner.
"Because I'm a failure as a girl."
"You're filled with corkiness, but you're not a failure."
"That lightened up my day," Nami said sarcastically.
"I heard everything from Ace, though. Can't you go up there and visit him while he trains?"
"But Shanks is going and he won't allow it. Besides, we don't have the money to get there."
"Good, because we're going-"
"Nojiko, I'm going to take a walk for a bit. You can put my portion in the fridge. I'll be home later."
Nojiko watched as she grabbed her coat and walked out the door. She blew a strand of hair from her face and took one plate from the table.
-x-x-x-
Luffy was in the middle of sleeping when he heard his phone start to ring. Without looking, he searched for his phone on his nightstand. It took him a while, but he finally found it before it stopped ringing.
"Hello?" he said, half asleep.
"Luffy, it's Nojiko. Have you been with Nami at all tonight?"
"What? At this late at night?" said Luffy while looking at the clock. It was almost one in the morning.
"She left before dinner and she hasn't come back since. I tried calling her, but her phone must be off."
"Okay, I get it. I'll call you when I get a hold of her."
Luffy hung up and quickly dialed Nami's number. He grunted when it went straight to voicemail. He grabbed his coat and ran out.
After knowing Nami for five months, he still doesn't know what's going on in her mind. But he does understand her when she's down. It was the same as that time with the whole Arlong incident. He thought he'd lost Nami that day when they couldn't find her. He was hoping this time was the same as that day.
Luffy stopped running when he reached the beach sidewalk. There was no sign of a shadow or a silhouette anywhere near the ocean. Luffy clenched his fists. He was hoping he'd be right this time. He turned around to head back when a bench, not far away, caught his eye.
He walked closer and found what he was looking for. His expression softened when he saw Nami laying on the bench, asleep. He took his coat off and placed it on top of her. He would hate for her to catch a cold just before summer started. He sat down and gently placed her head on his lap.
He leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. He thought back to the last time they talked. She sounded mad, no.. upset. Could it have been about the fireworks? He looked down at her sleeping face. She really must've wanted to go. At that moment, an idea popped up.
Luffy made sure Nami was secured on his back along with his jacket over her. He was surprised she didn't wake up after having the difficulty of getting her on his back without her help. It was cold tonight, but Nami's body heat radiated all over him. He didn't need a jacket as long as he had her.
